Worth Remembering
by 1dream
Summary: Everything has changed. From Nadia's death, to Erin's Personality. Will Erin go too far and forget how much she has overcome in her journey? Will Voight be able to save her once again? Lastly, will she be able to learn what was worth remembering about Nadia's death?
1. We've Come Too Far

It was midnight and Erin couldn't sleep. It had been a week since Nadia's unfortunate death and the whole team was starting to accept the fact, except _her_. Every night she looked at the untouched bottle of vodka sitting on the kitchen counter, debating whether or not she should drink it. She just wanted to escape the world and never come back. She wanted to deal with reality when she actually cared about it. After 10 minutes of grieving, she fell asleep, but not peacefully. She drifted into a dream which suddenly turned into a nightmare; a memory of Nadia.

" _I hope you're not planning anything for my birthday." Erin teased. There was too much going on for a celebration. "What? Now why would I ever do that? I mean, you only saved my life." Nadia chuckled. She felt the need to repay Erin. Without her help, she wouldn't be the woman she was today; a future cop. On that note, she drove to the closest bakery and that was the last time Erin saw her._

Erin woke up. Breathing heavily, she looked at the clock and realized that she was already late for work. "Damnit!" She hissed. She hurried and took her shower. When she was dressed, she made her way into the kitchen. There it was again: that bottle of vodka. She knew she shouldn't drink it, considering that Voight already warned her. Unsurprisingly, she didn't care. She poured the vodka into a glass and drank it. Another round. She then figured she better get to work. On the way out she poured the vodka into a blue tin water bottle and officially started her day.

When she got to the precinct, Voight was already explaining a new case. "There has been a murder at Chicago Med. Alfonso Ramone." He put a picture of him up on the whiteboard. "Last night at 9:50 he died from an injection" He explained. "Woah, woah, wait. An injection…. of medicine?" Ruzek asked, confused. "Well, we don't know. He was placed in the hospital from a gunshot wound in his neck 3 weeks ago. He was going to be discharged at 12 today." Voight added. "I don't get it. What kind of nurse or doctor purposely kills their patient a day prior to his discharge?" Dawson asked. "A fake one.." Olinsky slowly answered. "Okay, so we have a fake nurse who injects some sort of poison into a patient making them die...interesting." Ruzek commented with a smile. He seemed pretty happy that Burgess is now in place of Atwater, but he also knew that their relationship would have to dial down at work. "Lets go to the hospital and try to get some more info. Halstead, you're with Dawson. Olinsky, with Ruzek. Burgess, you stay here to answer calls for a few. Lindsay, you're with me. They all left and headed to Chicago Med.

Voight and Lindsay got into the car. Lindsay put her vodka bottle in the cup holder. "What's in the bottle?" Voight asked. "Water." Lindsay simply answered. Voight looked at her concerned . "Erin..." He warned. "It's water can we go now?!" She snapped. Voight took the bottle, took the top off, and smelled the vodka. Erin opened the car door and walked quickly back to precinct. "Erin! Come back here. Now!" Voight yelled as he also walked quickly after her. Erin locked herself into the bathroom and sobbed. Voight asked Sergeant Platt for the key without explanation and went to the bathroom. "Erin…Open up kid." He said softly. No answer. He then texted Olinsky telling him that he would be a little late. After he sent the text, he inserted the key and opened the door. Erin was sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest. Her eyes were red and she was rocking back and forth staring at the floor. Voight ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "C'mere." He said calmly. "It-it was all my f-f-fault…." She started to stutter on her words. "I should've-" She tried to explain but Voight cut her off. "Erin, don't do this to yourself." He wiped off a tear streaming down her face. He hadn't seen her like this ever since she was a teen. "Maybe you should go home and get some rest.." He continued. "No!" She snapped, "I-I'm fine." She sniffed and straightened herself up. "Lets go."

When they arrived at Chicago Med, everyone was sitting down. "What took you two so long" Ruzek joked. Voight and Olinsky gave him a stern look implying to shut up.

Ruzek looked at his feet. "Any info?" Voight asked. "Alittle." said Dawson. "Security cameras?" Voight wondered. " We couldn't get the face, but it's definitely a white male, blonde hair, and about 6 ft 7" answered Olinsky. Voight sighed. "Where the hell is Halstead?" He asked. He hadn't seen him since they were in the bullpen. "He's talking to Will and the staff to see if they seen anything." Ruzek explained. "Alright. Well we won't get anywhere by just standing here. Olinsky and Ruzek, go check up on Mouse. See if you can figure something out. Tell Halstead to stay here. Lindsay and I will go talk to Alfonso's family. Move." Voight demanded.

The drive to Alfonso's house was pretty silent. Erin looked out the window while Voight occasionally looked at her. "I was like this when Camille died.." Voight suddenly said. Erin looked at him. "I did everything I could to make the pain go away. Got drunk, slept more, everything. I even purposely got hurt on the job so I could go to the hospital and get high from morphine…" He sighed. " I... I don't know what made me do it. I just couldn't accept the fact that she was gone." Erin looked down at her thumbs and twiddled them. "Erin, I don't want you to do stupid things like that. You've come way too far to throw it all in the trash. _We've_ come way too far.."

 **Author's note:**

 **Hi! This is my first fanfiction and I'm extremely excited to see what you guys think of it! Sorry if it's a little short. If you have any suggestions, concerns, etc.. Please do not hesitate to ask or tell me! I'm looking forward to writing more! Thanks! :)**

 **-ml2d**


	2. Innocence

Erin and Voight were on their way to the Ramone household. When they reached their destination, they got out of the car and headed to the door. Voight then banged on the door 3 loud times.

"CPD." Voight yelled.

A little girl with dark brown hair opened the door.

"Hi sweetie," Erin said softly. "Is your mommy home?"

The little girl shook her head. Erin looked at Voight in a way that was implying that something wasn't right.

"How old are you?" Voight asked.

"6" The girl said quietly.

Erin tried to ask the girl something else but she was cut off by a young woman struggling with groceries.

"Mia! What did I say about answering the door to strangers!" The lady screamed.

"I'm sorry mama! I didn't-" she tried to explain but she was cut off.

"Go to your room! Now!" The lady yelled. She then turned to Voight and Erin.

"May I help you?" She snapped

"We just wanted to ask you some questions about your husband.." Erin said.

The lady looked around. She seemed as if she was hiding something, but Erin just ignored it.

"Come in." She wispered.

Her house looked very put together. Almost as if she hit the lottery. All three sat down in the living room.

"Very nice house." Voight observed. The place seemed a bit sketchy to him.

"So what was Alfonso's personality like?" Erin asked looking at the pictures hung on the wall.

"Eh, he was a good husband and father, I guess. We were separated at the time so Mia didn't really see him often." The lady explained.

"Hm, I see. I'm sorry. Oh, we didn't catch your name." Erin added.

"Michelle, but my friends call me Mickey." She said.

Voight observed the pictures as well.

"You have another daughter?" He asked.

"Well, _had_. Her name was Isabella. She died from a car accident. Her friend was drunk and she crashed into a tree killing the both of them. She shouldn't had died; Izzy was the _innocent_ one." Michelle explained.

Erin looked down and sighed.

"Is there anyone who would want to try and hurt your husband?" Voight changed the topic.

"No, Al was..well.. nevermind.." Michelle said hesitantly.

"Ma'am if you want the person who killed your husband to meet face to face with justice, you need to tell us." Erin snapped.

"Al was in the mafia a few years ago. All of the stress got to him.. and he started to drink. Soon his drinking became a problem to the point where he was scaring our children. Thats when I suggested that we should separate…. There was a guy who kept asking for him when Al left. His name was.. Oh.. Tommy Milazzo." Michelle explained.

Voight and Erin looked at each other.

"Thank you." Erin said.

They both left and got in the car. Voight grabbed his phone and called Halstead since he was still at the hospital talking to the staff.

"Go back to the precinct. We have a lead." He demanded. And on that note, he headed to the precinct.

* * *

"Tommy male, brown eyes, black, short, hair." Erin slapped a picture of him on the board.

"I have eyes on him. His house is on the corner of 50th street." added Mouse.

"Alright. Call Roman and Atwater. Gear up, let's go." Voight said.

They all drove to Tommy's house. It looked vacant, but they knew he was inside. As they surrounded his house, Voight gave Atwater the signal to knock down the door.

"One… two… three.." Voight whispered.

Atwater knocked the door down. They all went inside to see nothing but emptiness. Dawson, Ruzek, and Olinsky checked upstairs. Voight and Halstead checked downstairs. Erin checked the basement, while Atwater and Roman surrounded the house.

"Clear." yelled Dawson.

"Clear!" said Olinsky.

"Clear!" replied Ruzek.

"All clear down here." added Halstead.

"Erin are you clear?" Voight asked.

No answer. He tried again.

"Erin. Are you clear?" Voight asked again but she didn't reply.

The whole team ran down the stairs of the basement carefully observing their surroundings. Dawson turned on the light to see that Tommy Milazzo had his arm around Erin's neck pointing a gun to her head.

"Erin!" Halstead yelled. His heart was racing. How did he just let her go down in the basement by herself? He was her partner!

"Let me go or I will drop her in a second!" Tommy screamed.

"It doesn't have to end like this, Tommy." Voight said calmly.

He glanced at Erin and noticed she was turning purple. He made sure his radio was on so Atwater and Roman could hear him.

"Fine. You can go." Voight agreed.

Halstead looked at Voight confused. And then looked at Olinsky; he nodded. Tommy dropped Erin to the floor and ran like the wind to the front door. Atwater caught him with a fight, but finally cuffed him.

"You okay kid?" Voight asked while he rushed to her on the floor. Soon everyone else did too.

"Y-yea. I'm fine." Erin coughed. Ruzek walked around and picked up a sack. In it was a couple thousands.

"Holy…" he said.

"Looks like someone's been busy." added Dawson.

"Lets go." Voight said.

* * *

At the precinct Tommy was put in the interrogation room. He had a few bruises on him and a big scar across his face.

"How did you know Ramone?" Dawson asked.

"I'll answer if that fine lady asks me." Tommy teased.

"How the hell did you know Ramone?" Erin snapped.

"He was, let's say.. a _very_ good friend of mine." Tommy said with a smile.

"Oh yea? How so?" Dawson asked.

"We exchanged favors... sometimes wives.." He answered looking at Erin.

"Did Michelle or your wife ever get offended?" Dawson said raising his tone to get Tommy's attention.

"Hell no, Michelle hated Al. Personally, I think she was better off with me." Tommy added.

"Well, what did she hate about him?" asked Erin.

"He started drinking and abused her. He sliced my face. That's why I have a scar" He felt his face.

"Michelle wanted him gone for good, but that couldn't happen so she arranged some things.." He added.

"Like?" Dawson asked.

"Like, I'm not telling you anything else, until I get a deal." Tommy snapped.

"Deal? Hah! You're not getting a deal. You nearly killed a cop." Dawson yelled.

"Then I guess you won't know anything either." Tommy replied grinning.

Voight open the door.

"I'll take him to the cage." he demanded.

* * *

Voight threw Tommy in the cage.

"Im not telling you-"

"Shut up!" Voight snapped.

Voight gripped Tommy in his hands.

"What is this? Good cop, bad cop? Let me guess.. you're the good cop!" Tommy laughed.

"Tell me everything you know about Michelle." Voight demanded.

"No." Tommy said.

"Alright, well since you like choking cops, why don't I choke you, huh?" Voight said while putting his arm around Tommy's neck.

Tommy started to gag and choke. He went from white, to red, to purple, and then to blue.

"O-.. Okay!" He cried. "I'll tell you."

* * *

Voight put a picture of Michelle Ramone up.

"Michelle Ramone. She paid Tommy money to find a hitman who could disguise himself as a nurse. The hitman added a poisonous chemical to the syringe. When he injected it into Alfonso, it reached his heart within 4 hours and he died."

"This whole damn time, it was Michelle?" Ruzek asked.

"It's always the unexpected." Erin added.

"Let's head to down to Michelle's house to pay her a little visit." Voight said.

They all headed to the house and knocked on the door. Michelle answered this time.

"Michelle Ramone?" Olinsky asked.

"Yes, may I help you?" She snapped.

"You are under arrest for first degree murder." Olinsky added.

"For what?" She screamed. "Mia! Mia stay here mommy promises she will be back!" She said while she was getting cuffed.

"Don't keep promises you know you can't keep." Voight said.

* * *

"Good work today team." Voight said.

"I say we all go down to Molly's!" Dawson said.

"Im in!" Ruzek replied.

"Hey, I'll meet you guys there." said Halstead

Jay walked over to Erin's desk. She was filling out paperwork.

"You comin' to Molly's? I heard it's a lowered price on all drinks." he smirked.

"I don't know. Probably." Erin continued to do her paperwork.

"Look, Erin. If you need to talk…"

"Jay...please. Not the time.." She said

"Alright," Jay sighed. "I'll be expecting you at Molly's."

 **Author's note:**

 **Hi guys! Thanks alot for reading this and posting suggestions! I really enjoy reading them and I'm willing to use more of your thoughts! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Please keep up with the comments and tell me what the next chapters should include! Btw, I'm still trying to get used to writing on here so I'm extremely sorry if it looks weird. Thanks :))**

 **-ml2d**


	3. You're Stuck With Me

Surprisingly, Erin arrived at Molly's. She spotted a few people from Fire House 51 and her crew, of course. Everyone was there except for Hank.

"Aye, Erin! You made it!" Ruzek yelled while bumping into her.

"Uh, yeah. Wouldn't have missed it for the world." Erin said sarcastically.

Ruzek didn't notice because he was almost passed the fine line of fainting. Erin then waved to some people at Fire House 51 and saw Kelly Severide.

"Hey." He said displaying his signature smile.

"Hey."

"I heard about your friend, Erin I'm really-"

"Its fine.." she said cutting him off.

"Erin you know I'm here for you right? I understand how you feel.. especially after Shay died.."

There was a small pause.

"So, you wanna drink?" Severide asked.

"Well, actually I might wait it out." Erin said remembering what Voight said.

As they were talking, Jay spotted Erin and then Kelly. He could see the look on her face that she forgotten about everything that happened for the past week. He began to get jealous. Why couldn't he get her to smile like that? Why wasn't she able to forget about everything when he talked to her? Before Severide started a new topic, Jay barged in.

"Ahem! Oh hey Erin! I knew you would come!" Jay said stepping in front of Severide. Kelly frowned.

"Yea, but I'm-" She tried to answer him, but Severide cut her off.

"Why would she miss an opportunity to see me?" Severide teased.

At this point, the bar started to get heated. Bartenders slowed down and watched more, card players paused the game, and Erin started to turn red.

"Oh, I don't know.. Maybe because you ditched her on a date!" Jay said sarcastically.

"My friend died," Severide said starting to get pissed. "I was going through a lot of-" Kelly tried to explain.

"Save it," Jay cut him off. "I don't know what Erin saw in you.. must've just been your looks." Jay said.

"Jay!" Erin yelled.

"It's been a whole damn week and you still haven't called her to see how she was doing, man." Jay continued.

Everyone stopped and stared.

"Why don't you shut up before you mess with the wrong guy, Halstead." Severide threatened.

Next thing you know a punch is thrown, then another, then another.

"Aye! Aye! Break it up! Break it up!" Herrmann said jumping over the bar counter.

"Jay!" Antonio screamed while holding him back. He sat him in a chair and Olinsky, Roman, and Ruzek surrounded him.

"Dont start what you can't finish!" Severide yelled while being dragged outside.

"What the hell got into you man?" Antonio yelled steaming.

"He didn't deserve Erin.."

"Is that what this is about? I don't know how many more damn times I have to tell you. Voight wouldn't approve, he never did, he never will, and you know it!" Antonio continued.

Erin couldn't believe what had just happened. She just wanted to spend a nice, stress-free evening talking to her friends. She decided to leave unannounced and that was the end of that. Although, she was now in the mood for a drink so she went to the next closest bar. _O'Brien's Lucky Pub_.

* * *

"Hey." The bartender greeted.

"Hey."

"You seem a bit.."

"Stressed, mad, depressed, angry at the world? Yeah, just a bit." Erin snapped.

"Woah, I didn't mean to-"

"Sorry, I'm just having a rough day." She confessed.

"Then you would love my special drink of the day." The bartender said winking. His name tag said ' _Eric_ '. He was pretty short and had red hair. He gave her a shot.

"I guess it's pretty good.. I'll have another." Erin said.

Soon another became into one more. That one more became into five more, and it went downhill from there. She spent a couple hours there until it was time to close.

"Hey, Um.. we're closing in 10.." Eric warned.

"Can- Can I- just have another?" She asked, completely drunk.

"I don't think that's a good idea..How'd you get here?" Eric asked.

"Car." Erin slurred. Eric then asked for her phone and looked at her most recent calls. He saw the name _Voight_. He soon dialed the number and heard a raspy voice.

"Erin? Are you okay?" Voight asked from the other line.

"Um, hi…" Eric said.

"Who the hell-"

"Im Eric, a bartender at O'Brien's Lucky Pub. I believe your friend Erin is too drunk to drive home. I was wondering if you could pick her up.."

Voight sighed.

"I'm on my way."

* * *

Erin woke up to the smell of pancakes. She rubbed her eyes.

' _Where the hell am I?'_ She thought. She looked around once again.

"Damnit!" She realized that she was in her old room at Voight's place. She got out of bed, with the same clothes on from last night.

"Ah!" She hissed. She had a major hangover. She walked slowly down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Well, good morning, kid." Voight said with a smile. "I'm making pancakes, if you don't mind."

Erin just stared at him.

"Wha- what the hell happened." Erin asked, confused.

"Passed out from drinking too much. The bartender called me and I brought you here, where you will be staying for a while." Voight said.

"Hah! Me? Staying here?" Erin laughed. "Hank I'm not a teen anymore."

"Well you are until I let you go back to your apartment." Voight demanded.

"And my clothes?" Erin asked, figuring he didn't get them yet.

"Got 'em this morning. Welcome back kiddo." Voight said patting her on the back.

Erin quickly pushed his hand off of her back.

"Hank this isn't fair. At all." She said

"I'll tell you what's fair or not." Hank said nonchalantly.

"Are you kidding me? What the hell has gotten into you?" Erin snapped.

Voight turned the stove off and put the spatula down. Erin knew she crossed the line.

"Erin do you think I'm gonna let you sit at a bar drunk all day? Well, do you? Because I'm not. I keep telling you; you worked too damn hard to go out and waste your progress. You _are_ staying with me whether you like it or not." He growled

Erin just shook her head and walked out of the room. Voight didn't bother going after her, instead he picked up a picture of Camille.

"What do I do now?" He asked the smiling face of his deceased wife.

* * *

Erin didn't know where she was going, but she needed to get away from that house and _especially_ Voight. She was going to sit down on a bench until she got a phone call: It was Jay.

Decline.

The phone rang again.

Decline.

How could she answer him? He's part of the reason she has to stay with Voight. As she sat down she received a voicemail.

 _Erin, it's me. Look, I'm so sorry about last night. I was drunk, stupid, and maybe a little jealous. You know I didn't mean to start that fight… I-... agh.. nevermind. Just know I'm extremely sorry. Please forgive me. Bye._

Erin sighed and continued to stare at the city. Should she forgive him? She then got up and decided to see the last person on earth she would want to talk to. Bunny. She didn't feel like talking but she didn't have anywhere else to go. When she arrived at her job, she took three deep breaths before entering.

"Erin? What a surprise!" Bunny said overjoyed.

"Hey mom."

"What brings you here?...To your _real_ family?" Bunny asked.

Erin rolled her eyes refusing to tell Bunny that Voight is making her stay with him. She knew that Bunny would one day hold that against the both of them.

"Just walking around."

"Oh, how sweet of you. You know Teddy's doing really well. He wants to go back to school."

"Oh that's nice." Erin said, not really paying attention.

"Want a drink, honey?" Bunny asked.

"Nah, I'm good." She wasn't in the mood to do anything, really. "So what's new?"

Bunny gave an odd look, as if she was hiding something.

"Mom?"

"Well.. I was meaning to meet with you about something," She said "We may have a problem.."

What could have possibly been worse than the problem she was already going through?

"Mom I am not giving you money. I already have a lot on my plate."

"Erin..." Bunny continued. "Your father wants to meet with you."

* * *

"He what?" Voight nearly choked on his beer.

"Next Friday.." Erin added. She looked very strained. She just wanted a drink, but she didn't want to risk another incident like the night before. Plus, she can't take extra time added to living with Voight.

"Well are you going?" Voight asked with his eyes squinted.

"Should I?" Erin knew that no matter what Voight said, she was going to visit him.

"I would prefer you not to." Voight said

"Why not? He's still in jail, he just-"

"Erin, you are already going through a lot. You don't need any more stress added."

"Hank I'm sure I can handle an hour trip to meet my father. In a protected environment, I might add." She said rolling her eyes.

"I don't think you should go, Erin."

"Well, I still have time to think upon it.." She debated.

She felt that she might get the truth of her childhood if she went. If so, she would have to be sneaky around Voight, which is considered a talent if you can get passed him. Whenever Voight suggests something, he's really demanding it.

"I gotta run," Voight said sighing. "Chief Boden from Fire House 51 needs to talk to me for some reason. Just hope he doesn't talk my ear of like he always does. See ya kid."

He left the house and headed to meet Chief Boden. Erin had a sense of what they may be talking about; the bar fight. Nobody dared to tell Voight what happened at Molly's. Erin was pretty shocked Olinsky didn't tell Voight himself.

She was disturbed in the middle of her thought when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to a surprise. It was Jay. As soon as she saw him she tried to slam the door but his foot stopped her path.

"Erin just hear me out.. please." He begged

"Spare me Jay."

"Erin I'm sorry, I know it was out of place for me to start a fight with Severide. I already told you that I was a little drunk!" He explained

"How did you even find me here?" Erin asked impatiently.

"Your car wasn't in front of your apartment and you are usually home at this time so this is the second place I thought of."

"Well thanks to you in stuck here." She said rolling her eyes.

"That stinks!" Jay laughed.

Erin kept a straight face.

"Ahh... Not funny..." Jay said awkwardly.

Erin sighed.

"Come in"

* * *

"Is that you?" Jay asked laughing at the photo

It had been an hour since Jay came in and Voight was still out. Erin secretly hoped that he didn't come back any time soon.

"Oh yes, laugh at the girl with the train tracks on her teeth." She said joining the laugh.

They both settled down on the couch.

"Hey, I never heard you say that you forgave me." Jay teased.

"Hmm... I don't know. You may have to pay." She said using her 'evil' smile.

"How about a kiss?" Jay asked.

"Jay..." Erin warned.

Jay leaned in closer to Erin's lips.

"Jay... I don't think this is a good-"

"Shh.."

Their lips touched. It was the best feeling ever, but there were still some doubts that made her not fully enjoy it. She she be doing this? She thought they were going to take a break. Is this actually the first time she wasn't thinking about Nadia?A few minutes later, they heard the door knob twitch.

"Crap!" Hissed Jay.

"The back, the back!" Erin whispered.

Voight opened the door as Jay exited through the back. Voight went to the fridge, got a beer, sat on the couch and sighed.

"Jay Halstead is going to be dead when I get my hands on him."

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! I wasn't going to write a chapter, but I was just too tempted! Believe it or not, this is a much longer chapter than my regular ones. About 2,200 words! I would probably describe this chapter as a transitional chapter, nothing really exciting happens. I still read comments and I'm trying my best to use all suggestions. What should the next chapter be about? I wanna strive to make this more of a story that you guys control, and I can just add a touch of me into it. Thanks again for reading and I look forward to comments, follows, and favs. Maybe if I get more, I'll add something 'juicy' in. Bye :))**

 **-ml2d**


	4. I'll Never Forget

"Halstead! My office, now!" Voight yelled across the room.

Everyone looked at each other, already knowing what was going on. Well, everyone except for Erin. She simply looked down and picked at her fingers. As soon as Halstead entered the office, Voight slammed the door which made everyone jump. Following, a torrent of prayers were sent above asking for Voight's mercy.

"You wanna explain something to me?" Voight asked.

"Like what sir?" Jay figured he was talking about the bar fight, but wanted to play it safe. Maybe he found out about sneaking in Voight's house while he was gone.

"You know damn well. Does a bar fight ring a bell?"

Jay was glad Voight mentioned the bar fight, but at the same time, nervous to see what he had to say about it.

"Look,-"

"You swelled his eye and now he can't do his job! You know, I wouldn't be as pissed if you didn't start it. Boden was coming at my neck about it."

"Voight.."

"Since you took Severide's job away, I'm taking yours away."

"What?"

"You are now on desk duty for a few days. And if you complain, you are suspended. Are we clear?"

No answer.

"Are we clear?" Voight said raising his voice.

"Yes."

Jay then left the room, slammed the door behind him, and went to the break room. Voight came out.

"Burgess."

"Yes Sergeant?"

"You're off of desk duty for a few days in place of Halstead. You are now Lindsay's temporary partner."

Erin first looked at Burgess with a smile, then looked at Halstead across the hall. He looked pretty stressed out, considering that he just been put to desk duty.

"Alright everyone, gather around." Voight said.

He put a picture up of two girls on the board.

"Abbie Morrison and Haydee Brown. Both 13 and reported missing at 7:00 last night."

Erin sighed and looked down, catching the attention of Voight. He then looked back and proceeded with his announcement.

"We don't have any information or-"

He was cut off by the ringing of a cell phone. It was Erin's. She gave him a certain look that implied that she wanted to answer the phone.

"Go ahead." Voight said sighing.

She then only heard mumbling voices as she walked into the break room. She looked at the caller ID and ofcourse, it was none other than Bunny.

"Mom, I'm kinda busy." Erin lied. She was anticipating on a miracle to get her out of the bullpen conversation.

"Erin, just hear me out. Your father is wondering if you still wanted to see him this morning."

There was a long pause.

"Erin?"

"Um, yeah. I'll come.. Are you coming too?"

"Hell no. He already hates-.. We are just not on speaking terms."

"Uh huh, okay." Erin said, completely doubting Bunny. If there was one thing Bunny wasn't good at, it would have to be hiding her lies.

"Well, I have to go back to work. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright sweetie, bye."

Erin hung up and went back to the main room. Voight was finishing up. As she sat back down on her desk chair, she decided that she needed to think of a plan to get Voight from off of her back when she sees her father.

"We'll leave out in about one hour. I need to still figure some things out. For the time being, enjoy the freedom while you can. Once this case starts, no one is getting sleep."

And on that note, Voight went back into his office and everyone else started to socialize. Erin wanted to wait 15 minutes before carrying out her plan so she talked to Halstead for the interim.

"Hey"

"Hey"

"This was about the bar fight, wasn't it?"

"You guessed it."

"At least he didn't take away your badge." Erin said trying to make the subject less intense.

"Yea, whatever." Jay said, walking away.

Erin wanted to go after him, but she needed to get out to see her father. She walked up to Voight's office, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Yeah." She heard him yell from the other side of the door.

She walked in and tried to look as sick as possible.

"Erin, you okay?" Voight asked with a concerned look on his face.

"I- I don't feel too hot." She said, making a face to imply that she was in pain.

Voight got up from a around his desk and touched her forehead.

"Well you don't have a fever."

"I feel like I'm gonna explode. I was wondering if I could-" She paused to add the dramatic effect wincing with her hands on her stomach.

"If I could go to Chicago Med to get checked out."

"Ofcourse. You need me to drop you off?"

"No, no, I'm fine. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Alright, be careful kid." he warned her.

"I will, don't worry."

* * *

"Im here for a meeting with my father."

"Name?" The desk lady asked. She had a nasty, raspy voice and didn't seem like the nicest lady in town.

"Uh, Erin. Erin Lindsay."

"Oh… you're a Lindsay. Occupation?"

"I'm a detective at the 21st district."

"Oh the irony." The lady laughed. "He's in the room down the hall to your left. Meeting Room 104."

"Thanks."

Erin headed down the hall, took a left and saw the room. Meeting Room 104. She opened the door and saw her father sitting across from a table with two guards surrounding the room.

There was a long pause.

"Hi.." she finally spoke up.

Her father didn't say anything. She sat down and stared at him from across the table. She hadn't seen him in forever and forgot what he even looked like.

"Bunny told me that you wanted to see.. me.."

"Correct." He finally said.

"Well I'm here, heh." She felt a tear go down her cheek. Then another, and another.

Her father slowly rose out of his seat, getting the guards ready to shoot or attack. He then came over to Erin. He stared at her for a few seconds and suddenly hugged her. Erin sobbed on his shoulder for about a good ten minutes.

" _Daddy, why do you have to go? Please don't leave me!" The little girl sobbed holding on tight to her father's leg who was now being pulled by policemen._

" _You'll see me again, I promise."_

" _But- but what if I don't?"_

" _You will, don't worry. Take care of your mother and always think of how you can you keep both you and her alive. I will never forget you."_

 _And on that note, he got in the police car and drove away, leaving little Erin crying on the floor._

"Im sorry to break up the family reunion," The guard said, obviously not caring. "but your time is up Ms. Lindsay."

Erin snapped out of her memory and the two slowly released their arms from the hug.

"I expect you to come back, Erin." Her father teased.

"No doubt. And maybe, next time.. I could um, get some answers?"

"Of course."

"Sounds good." They both grinned.

"Oh and Erin," he said.

"Yeah?"

"I get out in a few weeks." He added

"That's great." She smiled.

"Good-bye, Erin." He whispered.

"Bye, dad."

* * *

Erin was walking to her car when she got a phone call from Voight.

"Lindsay." she answered in a 'sick' voice.

"Hey kid, how are ya holdin' up? Are you still at Chicago Med?"

"I'm fine, and no I just walked out. They gave me medication and I feel a little better."

"That's great to hear. Well, you can meet us back at the precinct or get some rest. Up to you."

"Alright, thanks Hank.

"No problem, see ya kiddo."

"Bye."

She couldn't believe she just lied to Voight twice and got away with it. You could say she seemed realistic enough to qualify to be an actress, not like she already had a lot on her plate or anything. Although her plan worked, she felt guilty for lying. She hasn't lied to him since she was a teen, and even then she wasn't the best liar. She decided to just go home because she couldn't face Voight at the precinct.

She got home and sat on the couch. There was so much more time until Hank came home so she decided to call Kelly Severide.

She waited for the rings to stop.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kelly. It's Erin."

"Oh, hey Erin."

"I just wanted to apologize on Jay's behalf. I really don't know why he did it."

"Hey, don't worry about, it wasn't your fault. I just have a swollen eye."

"Oh my God. Are you able to work?" Erin asked concerned.

"Ah, no, heh. I can hardly see out of the eye."

"God, Kelly, I'm so sorry. Maybe we can meet up for lunch in an hour?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Alright, Kev's Diner. I'll see you then."

"See ya, Er."

Meanwhile at the precinct, the team discussed the case.

"Alright, so, Abbie's parents dropped Abbie off at a school organized party, as well as Haydee's parents." Ruzek reminded the team.

"So the school had a party on a Thursday night, with a school day following? This doesn't seem right." Dawson added.

"Does the school have campus cameras?" Olinsky asked.

"Mouse, get into the school's security camera set and find a lead for us. We are getting nowhere in this case."

"Yes sir." Mouse said.

"Hey, where's Lindsay?" Burgess asked.

Voight and Olinsky linked eyes and shared a common facial expression. Then Voight nodded at him.

"She didn't feel well, so she's getting some rest." Voight said. "Al?"

Olinsky went into Voight's office shutting the door behind him.

"Is everything okay?" Olinsky asked.

"Something's up with Erin. She said she was sick, she looked sick, but a real 'sick' Erin wouldn't ask to go to Chicago Med. She would work through the whole day until someone _made_ her leave to get rest."

"Maybe it's a part of her grieving process." Al considered.

"I guess so." Voight said ending the conversation.

* * *

"No way!" Erin laughed.

She and Severide were having a great time at the diner. You didn't need to know rocket science to figure that out.

"The guy literally jumped out of the window. I'm just like 'what the actually hell.'" Severide said laughing back. For a few minutes, he stared into her eyes.

"You know," he started. "I miss this.. I miss us hanging out and having a good time."

"Well if you play your cards right, maybe this could be a regular thing." Erin teased.

Their conversation was cut off by a buzz. Erin got a text message, and it was from Voight.

 _Hey kid, we are finishing early today. I'll be home in about 15 minutes. Want me to pick anything up for you?_

"Damnit!" She hissed.

"Everything alright? Kelly asked, concerned.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I just- I gotta go, but thanks for lunch." She gave him a hug and left to her car, leaving Severide speechless.

Erin dashed to the car and quickly drove off without buckling her seatbelt. She tried making every light she could without causing ruckus. She was doing well until someone tried to blow a light and caused her to suddenly hit the brakes. As a reflex, her head banged against the wheel hard and caused her to feel light headed. She didn't use that as an excuse to stop trying to beat Voight home. It was another painful five minutes until she arrived and went inside. She struggled to the couch, holding on to everything she saw for support. She plopped on the couch and tried her best to appear like nothing happened. A couple minutes later, Voight arrived.

"Hey, how are you doing kid?"

" 'm fine." She said squinting her eyes. Erin saw two figures of Voight. The problem was, she couldn't figure out which was the real one.

"Are you sure?" He saw a bump on her head. "Stand up."

She stumbled standing up and felt a wave of dizziness. A few seconds later, her head felt fuzzy.

"Erin!"

Voight noticed her pupils were getting smaller and in just enough time, he caught her as she collapsed to the floor.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Woah, a lot of things happened in this chapter. I've noticed that I am going a bit fast so I am working on getting more in detail. Like I've said, I appreciate the comments, follows, favs, and suggestions. Please keep 'em coming! Thanks for reading and please tell me what to add in this! Thanks! :}**

 **-ml2d :))**


	5. My Fault

"She hit her head pretty hard, whatever she was doing." Will explained to Voight.

Voight didn't call the team yet, he was planning to after he talked to Will. There was just too much on his mind.

"We don't think she has any brain damage, but we can't be too sure. We'll just keep her here for a few days. She will most likely have a concussion." He continued.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Voight patted him on the back.

"If you, wanna see her she's in room 237. She should wake up in a few minutes."

Voight nodded his head and walked down the hall to see Erin. He peeked in the doorway and then walked in the room. He sat down next to her shifting his position to be comfortable. This was going to be a long night.

 _Erin slept in the hospital bed with Voight and Bunny watching over her. She attempted suicide._

" _This… this is all my fault!" Bunny sobbed._

 _Voight just looked at her in disgust._

 _"You're right. It is." He said simply. Voight only knew Erin for a few months now but already had a special connection with her._

 _"I just had a few drinks and didn't come home 2 days later! There was food on the table."_

 _"The only thing I saw on the table were pills and empty bottles of vodka."_

 _"Wha-?"_

 _"I'll make a deal with you," he said cutting her off. "I won't call child services if you let me take her in. No money, no support, nothing. I've got it all handled."_

 _"Voight you really think I'm gonna let you take my-"_

 _"Or you see her get taken away by a social worker. Your choice."_

 _Bunny sighed._

 _"Will I get her back when I'm better?"_

 _"You just worry about yourself right now. We'll see what the future plans for us."_

 _"Fine. But Voight, remember, she's my daughter."_

Voight saw Erin shift positions in the hospital bed which made him snap out of the memory. She looked weak and pale, but that was her new look ever since Nadia died. Erin looked around the room trying to figure out whose house she was sleeping in.

"Kelly?" She croaked. That was the last person she saw, well, at least she thought.

"Ahem," Voight said. At that moment Erin started to remember every single thing she did that day.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

"Hank, I just hit my head and-"

"The hospital didn't have records of you coming earlier,"

"Hank-"

"I got Mouse to see where you were."

"Will you stop cutting me off?" Erin snapped. Hank always does that. Simply because it was his thing. He never gave anyone the chance speak their mind before he got to finish speaking his.

"Erin, why didn't you just tell me you wanted to see your father?"

"Oh, and you wouldn't have stopped me?" Erin snapped.

"Well, I would try to reason with you."

"Hank, give me the _reason_ my father was put in jail. Give me the reason my mom was and will always be a junkie who tries to put me down in life. Give me the reason I was-"

She was stopped by a massive pain in her head which caused her to feel fuzzy. Voight's eyes were closed until she stopped, so he opened them.

"Erin?" He asked in a twisted face. He then ran to the hallway and yelled through it reaching the two doctors down the hall.

"We need a doctor in here right now!"

2 doctors came rushing in and surrounded Erin.

"Oxygen level?" One doctor asked.

"Low. She's losing oxygen to the brain."

"C'mon kid.." Voight mumbles to himself. What has he done?

"Oxygen mask. Quick. Let's get her a MRI."

"Yeah, this may be more severe than it seems."

The two doctors left Voight standing in the middle of the room dumbfounded. _This may be more severe than it seems._

* * *

"I feel like this is all of my fault, Al. She just wanted to see her father" Hank said to Olinsky privately.

"Well, Hank, sometimes we gotta make hard decisions as fathers, heh. Lexi sure ain't the easiest daughter."

"But this is Lindsay. You know how she is." There was a slight pause. "Hey, remember all those times she got into fights when she was a teen. I may have seemed mad but I was actually pretty impressed. I knew one day that she was gonna be good police for some reason."

" _What are you gonna do? Huh? Call Daddyyy?" The most popular boy in school, Tim Whithers, was starting trouble with Erin._

" _Oh wait! Isn't he in jail Ron?" Tim asked his best friend Ron. Ron just nodded in agreement._

" _Go to hell." Erin said trying to walk away from Tim and the whole school._

" _Hahah, I knew it Ron."_

" _What dude?"_

 _Erin tried to keep in her anger_.

" _Erin's just too afraid to face us. I mean come on, a girl with a junkie mom and an imprisoned dad doesn't want to get in trouble."_

 _The whole school calls shouts of 'ohs'._

" _How, do you know that about my parents?" Erin says trying to fight back the tears._

" _No need to worry about that princess. Hey here's an idea, why don't you call your cop 'godfather' and tell him to pick you up. Face it, nobody here likes you."_

 _Erin looks at her 'friends' and they look away. She then puts her backpack on the ground and walks toward Tim._

" _You know what Tim. I'm sure my mom made more money by selling drugs than your mom did by being a prostitute." With that she punched him in the nose and waited until it started to bleed. Tim then punched Erin across the face and in her gut. Before it got too intense, someone called the teachers to announce the fight._

" _Hey, hey break it up!" Principal Hall said while holding back Erin. She then pulled her to her office and sat her down on the chair._

" _Im calling your godfather."_

" _Great another thing I have to worry about."_

" _Hi, Mr. Voight?" Principal Hall said into the phone._

" _This is him."_

" _Hi, this is Principal Linda-"_

" _Hall. Yes we've met plenty of times." Voight said knowing that Erin is in trouble._

" _Erin got into her 3rd fight this week. I am sorry but we will have to suspend her for 3 days. We can discuss more when you come."_

" _Im on my way."_

 _It took Voight 15 minutes to actually walk through the door of the principal's office._

" _Hank, I-" Erin tried to explain._

" _I don't wanna hear it. We will talk later."_

" _Well Mr. Voight," Principal Hall said, "Erin seems to have broken Tim's nose so the parents are asking you to chip in for the expenses."_

" _Of course. Look, I'm sorry about her and the broken nose kid.. This is the last fight you will ever see her in."_

The two men smiled.

"Hey Al,"

"Yeah?"

"What if this whole incident messes up her whole life. I mean, it's bad enough she got a concussion in New York working with SVU. And to top that, her best friend died. I feel so bad for the kid."

Just as Alvin was about to look down at his fingers, he saw one tear go down Voight's face. Is Hank Voight actually crying?

"Woah, hey man, don't tear yourself up like that. She's gonna be just fine."

"I've already lost Camille, I lost Justin. I can't lose another one."

"And you won't. You saved her didn't you? You can and you _will_ save her again."

Voight smiled.

"Thanks, bro. Oh and if you tell anyone I have a soft side, well I'll deal with you later."

They both laughed and right on time, the rest of the team came to the hospital.

"Hey boss, where is she?" Dawson asked.

Voight sighed and looked down.

"She's uh," Olinsky started to say looking at Voight. "She's getting a MRI."

"What? I thought it was just a small concussion." Halstead said raising his voice.

"It may be more severe than it really seems."

There it was again. That phrase. Voight couldn't bear listening to the conversation.

"I'm gonna get some coffee." He said and walked away.

As he was walking away, Will was approaching him in the opposite direction.

"Hey Sarge-"

Voight kept walking away, not even acknowledging him.

"Don't take it personally, bro." Halstead said reassuring his younger brother.

" 'Kay, well Jay, I need to talk to you." Will said.

"What's up?"

"Oh.. In private?"

The whole team exchanged looks. Antonio nodded to Jay."

The two brothers walked away into a supply closet that Will had a key to.

"So?"

"I need a favor.."

"Go on.."

"I uh, owe some money to people.."

"Who?"

"People I messed with before I moved here. I wasn't getting a lot of money in the start so I shook some hands, if you know what I mean."

Jay sighed.

"How much?" He asked.

"Don't bite my head off when I-"

"Dude, just say it."

"$650,000,000.."

"Okay... And you can't afford that on your salary?"

"Well here's the problem.. I kinda just got suspended because I haven't been on time. Apparently I missed a 'planned' operation and an inexperienced surgeon had to come in my place. Whatever."

"Will, when would your next paycheck be….." Jay said trying to tame his anger.

"A few days, heh."

"How the hell am I supposed to provide this type of money?"

"Well I was thinking that... Since you're pretty close to Ben Corson's family... I kinda-"

"Don't you dare." Jay snapped.

"Jay you don't understand. These guys are gang members, they're coming for my neck. C'mon dude, I'm sure you can relate with me on this one."

Jay saw the concern in Will's eyes.

"I'll... See what I can do." He said sighing.

They ended their conversation with a brotherly hug.

* * *

"Wakey-wakey.." Ruzek said to half-awake Erin.

"Aye!" Olinsky said punching Ruzek.

Erin was moved back into her original room. She was starting to gain more consciousness.

"Would you guys back up and give the woman some space?" Burgess said laughing.

"Yea, really." Halstead agreed.

They all started laughing until they saw movement from Erin. Following that, she moaned and opened her eyes.

"Rise and shine princess!" Antonio greeted. "Took you long enough."

"Huh?" Erin was still a little fuzzy and didn't know what happened. Everyone laughed.

"Hey, where's Voight?" Ruzek wondered.

"Oh, he.. he had some business to take care of." Olinsky answered.

"B-business?" Erin hazily asked. "What kind of business? Is he okay?" She said suddenly gaining more of her consciousness.

She attempted to sit up but Halstead made her lay back down.

"Woah, woah, careful." He said concerned.

"Where is he?" Erin asked. Olinsky just sipped his coffee from his cup and looked sideways.

"Al, please." Erin begged.

Olinsky sighed, drawing attention to him by the whole crew. There was a moment of silence until a phone rang. Everyone looked around to see if it was their own. It was Erin's. She struggled to get her phone from the nightstand next to the hospital bed. Roman grabbed her phone and gave it to her. She looked at the Caller ID.

 _Call from:_

 _Bunny_

"You gotta be kidding me." Erin mumbled.

"Who is it?" Jay asked confused. Erin just ignored him and answered the phone.

"This better be important" Erin said on the phone with Bunny.

"Don't worry honey it is. Well not for me, God bless my heart." Bunny answered

"Would you get on with it?"

'It's your father. He's getting an early release."

"Oh? When?"

"Tomorrow."

"Isn't that a bit.. too early?"

"Don't ask me, he always found a way to pull his threads. Makes you wonder how he got with me because-"

"Mom!" Erin snapped. She did not mean to say her name. She didn't want the team to know who she was talking to. Especially Olinsky. He shares _everything_ with Voight. The room's temperature felt like it dropped 50 degrees.

"Just tell me when he does, okay?" Erin asked.

"Fine."

She clicked the end button and was ready to face awkwardness.

"Is.. everything okay?" Halstead asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah. Everything is just peachy."

* * *

"So you and Erin, you guys were getting lunch?" Voight asked Severide.

"Uh.. yeah. She felt bad about the bar fight so we just went out to eat."

Severide knew that Voight had some problems with Casey, but never thought he would be confronting him about Erin.

"And you two were drinking?"

"Huh? No! Uh, sir. No sir, we were not drinking."

"Did Erin not seem like herself?"

"Well, she did say that she had to go as soon as she got a text. Almost as if she was rushing."

Voight sighed.

"Um, what exactly are you questioning me for?"

"Erin's in the hospital." Voight said simply.

"Wait.. what? Is she okay?"

"She apparently hit her head on something and got a major concussion. Gave her an MRI. Luckily she was cleared that it was just a really bad concussion."

Severide was speechless.

"It just seemed weird for her to just 'hit her head'"

"Woah, I know what you're implying, but Erin and I just had lunch together. Nothing more."

"Just making sure, thanks Severide." He said patting Severide on the back.

Hank walked away while Severide remained speechless.

* * *

"Atleast you get out tomorrow." Jay said smiling.

"Yea, hey, thanks for being here. Wish they allowed beer in the hospital." Erin admitted. They both laughed.

"Erin, don't ever scare me like that again."

"Jay-"

"No just listen. I know we are I guess 'taking a break' but I nearly passed out myself once I heard you were getting a MRI, yet alone being in the hospital."

"Hey, I'm fine. See?" She said trying to pull a fake smile.

"Are you really?"

Erin sighed.

"I guess I'm just...scared. Look at who I'm becoming! Sneaking out on the clock, getting drunk, meeting my fa-..doing other things. I'm going backwards, Jay."

"Hey, whatever you go through, I'm going through with you. You're not alone in this."

He grabbed her hand for comfort as he saw a tear stream down her face.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey people! I think this chapter was another, so I call a "transitional chapter". Basically prepping for the next chapter. Thanks for the comments and I beg, please give me some more ideas! Lol. I need inspiration from you guys. What should the next chapter be about? Oh and sorry I've been slacking, I have been very busy lately. Thanks a bunch!**

 **-ml2d ;}**


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